AirPods 2 review

Longer battery life, new charging case, hands-free
Siri. AirPods 2 are a refreshed version of Apple’s
popular wireless earphones.

From the outside, you’d be
hard pressed to tell Apple’s updated AirPods from the
model they replace. The two look identical.

Identical
looks mean they also have an identical fit. If AirPods
didn’t sit comfortably in your ears last time around, the
new model changes nothing. Likewise if you had a problem
with them falling out your ears, that’s still going to
plague you1.

There’s also no
discernible difference between the sound on the new and old
models when it comes to playing music. You still get a full,
clear sound.

AirPods 2: Good sounds

The bass
is not too heavy and the treble stays under control. You
don’t get mentally exhausted by jangling highs. All the
music I tried sounded crisp. The AirPods pick up a
surprising amount of detail. They cope well with a range of
musical genres.

There’s no active or passive noise
cancellation and the AirPod design does little to block out
excessive background noise. I haven’t had an opportunity
to test them on a flight yet, but they work well on public
transport.

When AirPods first appeared, I passed because
recently purchased fancy noise
cancelling over-the-head headphones. While the
headphones are still more comfortable for long listening
sessions, upwards of, say a couple of hours, the pods are so
light and unobtrusive that, at first, it’s almost like
you’re not wearing anything at all.

Upgraded
chip

Apple says the newer AirPods 2 have an upgraded
chip which improves performance in some areas: Longer
battery life for voice phone calls, faster switching between
devices and lower latency.

Because I’m new to AirPods I
can’t tell you if the experience is better. What I can
tell you is the experience is easily as good as I’ve had
from other bluetooth speakers, earbuds and
headphones.

With the earlier AirPods you had to double tap
to launch Apple’s Siri voice interface. Now you can start
the app by saying “Hey Siri”. This is how it works with
the iPhone, iPad and Mac. While I’m too embarrassed to do
this in public, it works well. Telling Siri to play your
music choices is a useful feature when your hands are
busy.

Like the earlier AirPods, your music will
automatically pause if you remove one from an ear.

Qi
charging

The wireless
charging case work with Qi. This is a standard, you’ll
find it on some iPhones and Androids. It means you can use
the charging pads you already have to give your AirPods more
juice. In practice it works well, although it isn’t
fast.

It takes between three and four hours to fully
charge the AirPod case using wireless and around two hours
if you stick with the lightning connector.

AirPods show
the best of Apple’s approach to technology. In use they
are radically simple, so simple and easy to use they merge
almost seamlessly into the background of daily life. After a
few days you almost forget what life was life before you had
them.

AirPods 2 verdict

There are few reasons
to upgrade from first generation AirPods and even fewer if
you’re not going to use wireless charging. That said,
there are stories that ageing AirPods suffer from worn-out
batteries, so there will be upgraders.

If you’re the
kind of person who aims to impress by owning the latest
fashionable kit you’ll be disappointed. While AirPods are
something of a fashion accessory, there’s no extra kudos
showing off the latest version.

One weakness; AirPods
don’t fit everyone and they can fall out of your ears if
you are active.

They’re not cheap at NZ$350 for a pair
of AirPods 2 with a wireless charging case or NZ$280 for the
non-wireless case. Yet, you’ll struggle to find better
wireless earphones. They have plenty of battery life and the
sound is as good as you’ll find anywhere else.

If
you are new to AirPods and wonder if they will fit,
there’s an easy way to find out. The earpieces are more or
less than same size and shape and those on the wired earbuds
that come with iPhones. So long as they fit your ears,
AirPods will be fine.

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